Oregon receives $700,000 for charging stations

The Oregon Department of Transportation has been awarded $700,000 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to install electric vehicle fast-charging stations between Eugene and Ashland.

In total, ODOT and the private firm it chooses to work with will install eight stations along Interstate 5.

Typically, charging stations take between 20 and 30 minutes to charge 80 percent of a vehicle. While the exact locations for the stations are not official, they will be located directly off Interstate 5 interchanges and next to stores and rest areas, according to a statement from Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

The project is also part of a February agreement between Kulongoski, the Premier of the Province of British Columbia and the governors of Washington and California to create a green highway down Interstate 5. The goal of the pact is to install enough charging stations that a person could drive an electric car from British Columbia to Baja California. This grant is the last funding needed to close the gap between the Canadian and California boarders.

ODOT plans to have the sites selected by the end of the year, the private contractor selected by early 2011 and the charging stations installed by fall 2011.